A total of 350 Mk I and 20 Mk II Hudsons were
supplied (the Mk II had different propellers). These had two fixed Browning machine guns in the
nose and two more in a Boulton Paul dorsal turret. The
Hudson Mk III added one ventral and two beam
machine guns and replaced the 1,100 hp Wright Cyclone
9-cylinder radials with 1,200 hp versions (428 produced).

Operational
history

Although later outclassed by larger bombers, the Hudson achieved
some significant feats during the first half of the war. On 8
October 1939, over Jutland,
a Hudson became the first RAF aircraft to shoot down a German aircraft. (The first
British aircraft to shoot down a German plane was a Blackburn Skua of
the Fleet Air
Arm on 26 September 1939.) They operated as fighters
during the Battle of Dunkirk. A PBO-1 Hudson of
US
Navy squadron VP-82 became the first US aircraft to destroy a
German submarine[1] when it
sank U-656 southwest of Newfoundland on 1 March 1942. A
Hudson of Royal Canadian Air Force
Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron 113 became the first aircraft of
RCAF's Eastern Air Command to sink a submarine, when Hudson 625
sank U-754 on 31 July 1942.[2]

In 1941, the USAAF began operating the Hudson; the Twin
Wasp-powered variant was designated the A-28 (82
acquired) and the Cyclone-powered variant was designated the
A-29 (418 acquired). The US Navy operated 20
A-28s, redesignated the PBO-1. A further 300 were
built as aircrew trainers, designated the
AT-18.

Notable appearances in
media

The Lockheed Hudson features prominently in the Captains of the Clouds
(1942). The film starred James Cagney and Dennis Morgan as Canadian bush pilots who
do their part in the Second World War
as ferry pilots, bringing Hudsons to Britain. The film ends with a
depiction of a Hudson ferry flight that mixes authentic live action
with studio footage.

Above and Beyond (2006) Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation (CBC) four-hour mini series was inspired by the
true story of the Atlantic Ferry Organization, recounting the
daring plan to deliver aircraft across the North Atlantic to the
beleaguered Royal Air Force. The Lockheed Hudson is the primary
aircraft portrayed in the mini series in the form of a real life
example and numerous CGI Hudsons.[3]

A de-militarized Hudson is flown by Humphrey Bogart's character in Tokyo
Joe (1949). Bogart played an ex-World War II pilot
attempting to operate a cargo airline in occupied Japan. The Hudson
is identifiable by the turret platform at the rear of the fuselage,
and by the numerous windows in the cockpit area.

The Lockheed Hudson was featured in the movie The Great
Raid as a distraction to Japanese soldiers, although in
the real event, a P-61 Black Widow was used. The Hudson
was used instead because there were no airworthy Black Widows at
the time of the movie's filming.